Dhampir

by J. H. Hutchins

  “Lookin’ good, buddy,” said Emmett. “How’ve you been?”

  “Busy,” Jayce answered. “What have you guys been up to?”

  “Besides trying to get in touch with you?” Peter asked. “Nothing much. We’re thinking about heading to the arcade. Want to come?”

  “Right now?”

  “Yeah,” said Emmett. “The Uber should be here any minute.”

  Jayce looked to see what Mallory thought about the idea. She was too busy studying Emmett’s wheelchair.

  “May I have a go?” she asked him. He didn’t look pleased.

  “You think you’re funny, weirdo?”

  “Weirdo? I haven’t a clue why you’d say that, but you’d better move it or lose it.”

  Jayce and Peter stepped between the two of them before Emmett ran over Mallory’s foot.

  “Chill,” Jayce persuaded. “She’s not from here.”

  “I don’t care where this weirdo’s from,” Emmett shot back. “There’s no place on this Earth where that’s not a diss!”

  He had a point. Jayce took Mallory aside to explain that Emmett was disabled and couldn’t just “give her the wheelchair,” as if it were some type of carnival ride. She didn’t understand at first, as within the Dome disabilities were healed by the Fairy Godmother and the Thirteen Spirits in private. Even outside of the Dome there were many species that followed the harsh reality of a true Lycan — they gave up. They killed themselves in order to avoid suffering the pain of living in such a dark realm with such disadvantages. This reason alone made Mallory bow in respect for Emmett.

  “Forgive me. I am terribly sorry for my mistake.”

  Emmett was still confused.

  “What is this?” he asked. “Are you being sarcastic!?”

  “She’s not,” said Jayce. “

  “Where’d you find this chick? She belongs in the loony bin!”

  “Maybe so,” Jayce admitted. “But she’s a friend of mine.”

  “A friend!?” the entire trio proclaimed. Even before Jayce became a suburban hermit he was too much of a “womanizer” to hold, or even pursue, a relationship. He wouldn’t refer to girls as friends, as he hated how they hunted him down when he moved on to the next one. With his looks and prestige, he attracted everyone — including most of his teachers. And though he lost his prestige and mental clarity, his physical-self had only expanded on this attraction. He could go back to that life whenever he wanted.

  “I’ve changed,” he told them.

  “We noticed,” came a voice from behind the group. It was another group

  of older teens. The leader was Joshua, a kid Jayce always referred to as “Myron’s sugar daddy,” for the way The Enterprise member used to have his head up his ass. Jayce and Josh used to be best friends when Jayce didn’t mind playing the popularity game. His former friend studied Mallory like she was a show dog. “I know you haven’t been out much, but you can do better than this.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend,” Jayce said, shaking his head in the process.

  “You should give her to Peter or Kyle,” Josh went on. “Average is better than nothing.” The friends behind him — Willard, Kenneth, and Winston — giggled like schoolgirls. They were what Jayce and many others would call “hypebeasts.” If you let Jayce tell it, their sole function of existing was to flex their designer clothes and flashy lifestyles upon America’s divided society. Josh continued his study. “She’s got some potential though. You could even say she’s pretty — for an emo chick.”

  “Whatever,” Jayce sighed. “She doesn’t care what people think anyway.”

  “Actually, I do,” Mallory smirked at Josh. “I bet you’d look pretty too if I bit your bloody lips off.”

  “Is that your autistic way of asking for a kiss?” Josh laughed. She stood right to his face and placed her finger on his lip.

  “You don’t want a kiss from me, dear,” she smiled. “It’ll be your last.”

  “Keep it up with the threats and I’ll have my girlfriend and her friends kick your ass.”

  “It’s over,” Jayce said, splitting them apart. However, Josh wasn’t one to play nice. He spat over Jayce’s shoulder and towards Mallory’s face. The Vampire was so irritated that her natural instincts spiked. She caught the spit mid-air and then proceeded to step closer and pat Josh’s cheek with his own waste.

  “This yours?” she asked, poking her tongue out like a rockstar.

  Josh protested like hell, causing everybody to hold him back. The pastor even came over to stop him from shouting curses like a sailor right beside his church. The Uber finally came to break the tense moment.

  “Let’s go,” Emmett said to the others. “Jayce, you coming?”

  “Yeah,” he said, pulling Mallory toward the car.

  “Where you going?” the angry Josh yelled toward Emmett.

  “The arcade,” he said. “Want to come?”

  Jayce, Peter, and Kyle looked at Emmett like his head had been severed. They knew Emmett was desperate to get the trio into Josh’s inner circle because he had a crush on the asshole’s girlfriend, Kathy. But Josh and his verbal jabs were mental torture.

  “We’re down.”

  Despite the Uber driver and his friends’ complaints, Joshua and his three friends piled into the large, black SUV. They even had the nerve to laugh when Kyle, Peter, and Jayce helped Emmett fold his wheelchair and place it in the trunk. Mallory liked Emmett’s plan. The princess made sure to scoot right next to Josh. She felt like tormenting him and wanted to bait him into forcing her to respond. After a few more rounds of arguing, Josh changed his mind.

  “I like your girl,” he admitted to Jayce. “She’s hotter with that accent.”

  “Aren’t you dating Kathy?” Emmett interrupted.

  “Yeah. So what?”

  “I don’t get why you’re still rating other girls. She’s the hottest one in the school. Maybe even the district — you know?”

  “No, I don’t, Emmett,” Joshua countered.

  “It’s just advice. I don’t think it’s right to walk over other people — especially when you’ve got someone like Kathy.”

  “How would you know about ‘walking over other people?’” he laughed. “You can barely roll!” The laughter stung. Even the Uber driver looked back in the rearview mirror. Jayce wanted to stick up for his friends but didn’t want to make their lives any worse. His friends still had to go to school with assholes like Josh, and they’d be targets if he humiliated Josh any further than Mallory had.

  “Your jokes are hideous,” said Mallory. “They’re worse than these poets on the noise thingy.” The princess pointed toward the radio.

  “What do you know about rap?” Josh’s friend, Kenneth barked.

  “I don’t know what ‘rap’ is, but I can certainly put words together better than you bimbos.”

  Josh and the others erupted in oohs. They expected Kenneth to deliver.

  “Please don’t,” said Jayce. He couldn’t imagine anything worse than Mallory rapping. Kenneth tapped Willard.

  “Put a beat on your phone.” He then tapped the driver. “Turn down the radio.”

  After both deeds were done, Kenneth began rapping. The topics didn’t include Mallory much but rather showed off his skillful flow over the beat and his endless dissection of sex, drugs, and wealth. For his flow alone, he got an applause.

  “Lame!” Mallory yawned after he finished.

  The princess jousted Kenneth with her own string of bars. Despite having a bit of a rough time coordinating with the beat, Mallory roasted Kenneth to much applause.

  Afterward, Winston turned off the beat and tried to battle her himself, but Kenneth was too salty to let that happen. He interrupted Winston’s rap to spit his own. Within seconds of his interruption, Mallory made her own interjection.

  You send me harsh words because I dress without a care —

  But it’s hard to take you seriously when there’s lint in your hair.

  That was it
. One punchline. Upon leaning over to pick a speck of lint from Kenneth’s hair, and then dropping it in a dramatic fashion, Josh and the other passengers erupted in praise. Mallory caught Jayce smirking. As the car pulled up to the front of the arcade, even the driver concluded, “she’s good.”

  After departing the vehicle, Josh and friends left. They were never planning to head to the arcade — they just wanted a ride closer to the center of the city. Jayce tipped the Uber driver himself for the inconvenience to the driver. Then it was time to enter Gatsby’s Midtown Arcade. Mallory held Jayce’s hand as they entered with his friends.

  Jayce found the arcade run boring. Despite the fun Mallory and his friends were having, he just couldn’t get his mind off of the wand. It did, however, boost his morale enough to seem pleasant. Kyle remarked that they all agreed that Jayce looked “the happiest he’s looked in months.” They thought it was solely Mallory’s doing because he didn’t tell them about the wand. If it didn’t work, he’d feel humiliated knowing he bragged about it to his only true friends. It if did work, it could get them in unneeded trouble if his future enemies decided to reign hell upon him.

  The arcade wasn’t as packed as usual — it was a Tuesday night — but still popular enough for Jayce to recognize a few people he used to go to school with. Whispers and texts were spread regarding his “return.” The rumors would go unnoticed by him, but he could feel the awkward tension within the flashy Midtown destination.

  When Peter told Mallory that he thought their connection was behind Jayce’s new spark, her heart began to feel warm and fuzzy. She had dominated the arcade, winning nearly every game she attempted. She’d completely fumble on the first few attempts, but soon afterward she would nail the game like a master. This afforded her many prizes at the end of their arcade visit. She gave them all to Emmett, Peter, and Kyle — which effectively made her one of the coolest people they’d ever met. She grabbed one of the highest prizes the arcade had to offer to share with Jayce. It was a little vampire doll. Its cartoonish design was a hit with Mallory, and she named him Vladius.

  “I don’t want him,” Jayce admitted.

  “Aww,” Mallory whined. “Why not? He can be our son!”

  Jayce set his head down.

  “I don’t need any more responsibilities,” Jayce continued. “Especially not a child.”

  “What age would you consider children?”

  Jayce found the question absurd but took it to the chin. It was Mallory, after all.

  “Whenever I feel comfortable,” answered Jayce. “Thirty-five doesn’t sound bad.”

  Mallory sneered.

  “It doesn’t sound great, either.”

  “When would you want children?”

  “I want at least thirteen children by twenty.”

  Jayce was astounded.

  “Thirteen? Have you lost your fucking mind!?”

  “I think we all have, in our own ways,” Mallory winked.

  “Aren’t you already a hundred something?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then how can you have thirteen by twenty?”

  “Gothic Vamp years converted to human years are the reason. Kassie told me that I’m sixteen in human years and one-hundred sixty-six in Gothic years — even as a halfling.”

  “You definitely look and act sixteen . . .”

  “Thank you,” said Mallory, hoping Jayce was giving her a compliment instead of mocking her. “Now what?”

  “I want to take you on a date,” Jayce blushed. This new emotion from the dark soul was genuine and nearly made the princess’s nose bleed. She held back tears as best as she could as Jayce continued. “It’s my turn to treat you.”

  Jayce had warmed his heart to Mallory. Seeing how impressed his friends were with her sticking up for them against Joshua and his followers, plus the prizes she won for them, made him fall even harder for our Gothic princess. It wasn’t enough to warrant his trust — or even a quarter of it — but it was the most wonderful feeling he’d had for somebody since the fateful incident last year.

  Nothing was the same.

  24

  The Date

  Saturn’s Rose was too much for Mallory. Although Jayce was willing to spend any amount to please their appetite, the stuffy atmosphere, unique menu, and judgemental staff made Mallory feel too uncomfortable for such a special moment.

  “Let’s go somewhere else,” Mallory smiled.

  “Why? Saturn’s Rose is the best restaurant in the city.”

  “It’s too much.”

  “Don’t worry about money, Mal. My parents left me a fortune before they left.” The way he called her “Mal,” made her loins quiver.

  “It’s not the money it’s—” Mallory scanned the room then whispered, “They’re faking personas. They’re scared to fall out of line and be themselves. They’re too normal.”

  “Most are.”

  “But this is our moment. McDonald’s sounds great.”

  “McDonald’s?” Jayce sneered. “I’ve finally accepted this whole thing — why would I risk our first date at Mcdonald’s?”

  “People there take themselves less seriously,” she said. “It’s right across the street. Beat you there!”

  She did, in fact, beat him there. By the time Jayce apologized and left for McDonald’s, she was already striking up quirky conversations. Jayce sighed as he entered the crowded restaurant. Midtown Gatsby — even on weekdays — never slept.

  Mallory went overboard with burgers, chicken nuggets, and fries again. Not only that, but she also persuaded Jayce into buying meals for many of the other customers there. She even expected him to pay for customers in the drive-thru! Whenever the princess saw a car drive past the window she immediately hopped up and ran outside. When she returned, she informed Jayce that everything would be added to his “tab,” since it was A-OK with the drive-thru customer.

  Jayce had spent close to two hundred dollars after all was said and done. If not for the wand and The Chariot’s prophecy Jayce would’ve left. As he wasn’t sure what he could eat from McDonald’s on his vegan diet, Jayce bought a basic side salad with apple slices. He also had water, but Mallory used his cup so many times that it was basically her second filling of “suicide soda.” Of course, eating, conversing, and running back and forth to the bathroom wasn’t the only thing the princess wanted to do . . .

  “Play with me,” she asked Jayce. She woke him up from rubbing his temples in confusion. She pointed at the large, but empty, playground in the room next to the dining area.

  “No way,” he said. “Do you know how dirty those things are?”

  “It’s not dirty. I played in one the last time I came here.”

  “Then go.”

  “But I have nobody to play with.”

  Jayce studied the restaurant. Because of the time (11:28 p.m.), there were no schoolchildren in sight. Just a bunch of adults.

  “They’re disgusting,” Jayce continued. “For example, ball pits are dirtier than toilets. People vomit, piss, shit, and have sex in those things. You think these employees clean that thing thoroughly?”

  “Who cares . . . ? The fun is worth it.”

  “Plus, it’s embarrassing. Don’t you think we’re too old? I’m seventeen and you’re a hundred something.”

  “Sixteen,” Mallory corrected.

  “Whatever. It’s not a good idea. It’s time to grow up.”

  Mallory pouted for a few minutes. However, after she was distracted by another passing car going to the drive-thru, wasteful dollar signs ran through Jayce’s mind and he pulled her arm and entered the playground room. Of course, the first place Mallory went to was the ball pit.

  “Dive in!” she yelled, scrabbling around the plastic balls. “It’s comfy!”

  There was no way Jayce was going in that thing. Even if she promised to open the key he would’ve thought twice — and admittedly taken the offer. But another visitor caused him to have an excuse not to jump in. The visitor’s messy brown hair and bul
ging eyes peeked from the ball pit.

  “Mallory!” Jayce pointed.

  The hidden guest jumped up from the balls. He had on a dirty t-shirt and shredded denim jeans. It was a kid around their age.

  “Hi there,” Mallory beamed. “Want to play with us?”

  Jayce sneered at the request.

  “No thanks,” the teenager muttered. “Want to buy a gun?”

  “A gun!?” the pair asked.

  Without delay, the boy pulled a revolver from his pocket. Jayce ripped Mallory from the ball pit and pulled her backward until his spine hit the door behind him.

  “It can get pretty rough on the west side,” the mysterious teen admitted. “But I have no money, so I’ll sell it to y’all for a meal.”

  “We don’t want it,” Jayce shot back.

  “We’ll give you money for free,” added Mallory. Jayce looked at her in disbelief.

  “It’s a trick,” Jayce told her. “Nobody’s dumb enough to sell a gun for a meal — let alone one from McDonald’s.”

  “Let’s take him in,” she said.

  “Are you crazy!?”

  “A little bit, I suppose.”

  “Listen,” Jayce told the boy with a sigh. He rummaged through his pockets. He only had three hundred dollars left from the money he got from his room and Mr. Bennett. “I’ll give you three hundred dollars if you clean yourself up and make something of yourself.”

  “Really!?” the boy beamed.

  “Take it,” said Jayce. He pushed Mallory back and thrust his arm toward the ball pit. The boy hastily swam through the balls and grabbed the money. He placed the gun in his pocket and hopped out. Jayce stepped back, but the boy caught him and Mallory in a hug. On a closer look, the boy had bruises and healed cuts all over his arm. He also had a black eye and a bump on his forehead.

  “Thank you,” he cried. “You don’t understand what this means to me.”

  “What’s wrong?” asked Mallory. Jayce sighed in response. He just wanted the boy to move on with his life.